PIHL Notebook – 01/26/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 26, 2015 | 4:29 PM

Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. First up, “Melting the Ice” provides your weekly thermometer of streaking teams around the league. Meanwhile, this week’s “Scoreboard Watch” includes some overtime thrillers in Class AAA and Class AA. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of upcoming MSA broadcasts, including key battles at the bottom of the Class AAA playoff bracket and the top of the Class A one. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition of “PIHL Notebook.”

MELTING THE ICE (Records listed indicate current unbeaten streak):

Class AAA: North Allegheny (4-0-1); Mount Lebanon (3-0-0)

Class AA: Erie Cathedral Prep (6-0-0); Armstrong (4-0-1); Bishop Canevin (3-0-0); Latrobe (3-0-0); Moon (3-0-0)

Class A: Quaker Valley (14-0-1); Franklin Regional (5-0-0); Bishop McCort (4-0-0); Montour (3-0-0)

Class B: Harbor Creek (13-0-0)

Class C: Carrick (15-0-0); OLSH (5-0-0)

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

Class AAA

1/22/15 – Bethel Park 2-0-1-0=3, North Allegheny 1-1-1-0=3 (OT) … The Black Hawks (10-5-2) scored twice on the power play to take a 2-1 lead into the second period. The Tigers (12-2-3) evened things up before the Zamboni hit the ice, setting the stage for a dramatic third period. Antonio Esposito got his second of the night for Bethel Park at 6:46, but Dominick Zangaro got the game-tying goal with just 59 seconds left in regulation. Zangaro added one assist to his effort for North Allegheny, Christian Louria contributed two points (1 G, 1 A) and Joe Hubert made 28 saves. William Lowe was better for the Hawks, though, stopping 30 shots.

Class AA

1/20/15 – West Allegheny 0-0-1-0=1, Armstrong 0-0-1-0=1 (OT) … It took until 4:27 of the third period for Christian Miller to find the back of the net for the River Hawks (9-3-1). It then only took the Indians (5-8-1) 1:38 to tie thinks up off the stick of Ryan Rohm. Anthony Dominick stopped 27 pieces of vulcanized rubber for West Allegheny, but Taylor Smouse was better for Armstrong with 31 saves.

Class A

1/22/15 – Keystone Oaks 3-1-1=5, Serra Catholic 1-1-1=3 … Matthew Brestensky scored four out of the Golden Eagles’ (2-13-1) five goals, including the winner and one on the power play, keying a victory over the Eagles (5-11-0). Eugene Barilla and Andrius Petrauska each had two helpers for Keystone Oaks while Jonathan Mead was by far the busier goaltender with 44 saves. Jonathan Lesnak (1 G, 1 A) and Michael Ulishney (2 A) paced Serra Catholic.

Class B

1/22/15 – Harbor Creek 1-3-1=5, Morgantown 0-1-1=2 … The Huskies (13-1-0) parlayed a three-goal second period into victory over the Mohigans (6-7-1). Molly Dumanski buried the winner at 14:52 of the middle frame. Logan Conboy (1 G, 3 A) paced the Harbor Creek offense, Nick Rocco’s (2 G, 1 A) night included a power play tally and Hunter Meyette stopped 19 shots. Nate Frisbee scored shorthanded and added one assist while Jacob Hough made 41 saves for Morgantown.

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

1/26/15 – Class A – Hempfield Spartans vs. Mars Fighting Planets AT Bladerunners in Warrendale … The Spartans (12-5-0) are coming off a win, having gone 3-2-0 in their last five contests while boasting the fifth-best offense (102 GF) and fourth-best defense (50 GA) in the class. Luke Rosendal (25 G, 16 A) and Andrew Koziara (13 G, 17 A) lead the Hempfield attack with Garet Ciaramella (9-4-0, 2.85 GAA, 0.894 SV%, 1 SO) posting solid numbers as the number one backstop. The Planets (15-3-0) are also coming off a win, going 4-1-0 in their last five outings while ranking a notch above Hempfield in goals for (118) and against (48). Paul Maust (22 G, 15 A) and Kyle Thomas (13 G, 22 A) top the Mars offense while Tyler Spreng (2.61 GAA, 0.865 SV%, 3 SO) has been the one and only goalie. The Planets won the previous meeting 6-2 on October 27 with Owen Vasbinder netting the winner as part of his two-goal, one-assist effort, something Maust also managed. The Spartans got a power play goal and one assist from Koziara. The puck drops at 6:30 PM with Josh Rowntree and Adam Hoerner on the call while Scott Majesky mans the camera.

1/26/15 – Class AAA – Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings vs. Pine-Richland Rams AT Ice Connection in Valencia … The Vikings (5-10-2) find themselves on the outside of the current playoff picture, coming off a loss and going 2-3-0 in their last five games. Meanwhile, the Rams (6-9-1) are one of the hottest teams in the class, coming off a win and going 4-1-0 in their last five. That being said, only one point separates these two, so Pine-Richland better be in top form. Matt Cole (13 G, 7 A) and Ben Meyer (2 G, 11 A) lead PR in goals and assists respectively while Isaac Stephen (5-6-1, 3.19 GAA, 0.888 SV%) has played the bulk of the minutes in net. Pittsburgh Central will rely on its top scorers, Jake Tepe (7 G, 9 A) and Ryan Kingerski (8 G, 7 A), to try and halt its opponent’s momentum. The Vikings did take the previous meeting 5-4 in overtime on Halloween night. Sam DeLucia got the winner 1:02 into the extra frame. Kingerski (1 G, 2 A) led the PCC attack while Antonio Binotto (1 G, 2 A) mirrored that production for the Rams. The puck drops at 7:10 PM with Steve Nagler and Gero Von Dahn on the call.

1/27/15 – Class B – Beaver Bobcats vs. Blackhawk Cougars AT Beaver County Ice … Both teams have won back-to-back games, with the Bobcats (7-6-0) on a 3-2-0 run while the Cougars (8-5-0) have gone 4-1-0 over the same stretch. This one should be tight-checking to say the least, with Blackhawk (36 GA) and Beaver (37 GA) ranking second and third respectively in the class defensively. Corey Steinle (2.77 GAA, 0.920 SV%, 1 SO) and Grant Rombold (13 G, 12 A) continue to star for Blackhawk. Antoni Chirgott (13 G, 9 A) and Ryan Hartman (7 G, 12 A) lead Beaver up front while Robbie Halvin (4-4-0, 2.37 GAA, 0.930 SV%, 1 SO) has played most of the minutes between the pipes. The Cougars have taken the first two meetings, first 4-3 November 24 and then 4-2 on December 18. The puck drops at 8:20 PM with Mike Azadian and Brandon Showers on the call.

That wraps up this edition of “PIHL Notebook,” but check back every Monday through March for more news from around the league. In the meantime, Adam Hoerner and Josh Rowntree host another episode of “The PIHL Power Play” this Wednesday night at 8:00. Joining us this week will be North Hills forward Brett Berner and Franklin Regional head coach Brian Kurtz. Your home for the 2015 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!